~MEMORIES~

This past week I attended the funeral of my neighbor and friend Eileen Thompson.  She lived through the pasture from us my whole life. She was such a sweet and humorous lady that had a very contagious laugh.

Her and her husband Bill had a milk barn and spent many hours out there milking cows. During the summer her grandson's would come and stay and help with the milking and chores (lucky for us they were pretty cute :) We spent many summer days playing in her yard, swinging, jumping on the trampoline and running through the sprinklers.  She would always come out and offer a Popsicle or ice cream of some sort.  She was also my piano teacher for 6 years which I am very sad to say, I was a VERY stubborn student and refused to practice, so I still CANNOT play the piano.:(  The only way I got through lessons was to have my older sister play the song for me. Then I would watch where her hands would go and I could play it.

After moving back home 5 years ago I happened to go in the bathroom at the church the same time as she did. The guilt was so overpowering that I had to apologize to her for being such a terrible student.  She just laughed and said, "you were such a sweet little girl but you just didn't like to practice, did you." I told her I wish I could do it over.  I'd do much better now. Now I can just live with the regret.

She was also the ward organist and pianist for as long as I can remember.  She even played in church the Sunday before she passed away. Every time I saw Eileen she had a hug for me.  I will miss not getting that hug or seeing the light on in her kitchen window at night. Not seeing her in the hall at church and not passing her as her and a couple of her girl friends would go get a coke everyday and drive around the streets of Scipio ever so slowly.

 I guess one of the problems with moving back home as an adult is that nothing is the same as you remembered it as child. It all seems so nostalgic.

Here's a picture of her accompanying my daughter at the 24th program this past July. (Yes, my daughter HAS learned to play a musical instrument!) :)

Today is November 17th 2011 - Eileen's husband Bill didn't wait long to join her.  He passed away a couple of days ago.  His funeral will be tomorrow November 18th, 2011.  Sure sad to see the place so empty.

~Uncle Joe's Cabin~

Every year since I can remember the Christensen family has gone up to Uncle Joe's Cabin for Labor Day. I was first invited when Morgan and I were dating and have been every year since. It's crazy to think that the little babies that were there when I first started going are now married and having babies of their own.  Sure makes me feel OLD! :( But it is also adding to the fun having the new family additions.  We have gotten so big now that each year a couple of families have to bring campers and tents to sleep in but it is still a blast. The boys (and my daughter) went up on the skyline and had a game of football.  I had fun taking MORE silhouette pictures. :)'  It was such a perfect night! We also had fun staying up late playing card games, eating, visiting, eating, reading, eating, going on 4-wheeler rides, eating and well I guess you get the point......LOTS OF EATING! It's the only time of year you don't need to feel guilty having a piece of lemon meringue pie, or Nieman Marcus bars right after breakfast. Then between meals you can snack on homemade oreo's, corn pops treats, golden Graham S'mores, licorice, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, chips and salsa, Peanut M&M's, rice crispy treats, Tootsie Rolls and whatever else you can a find. ~Holy crap I think I just gained 10 more pounds making that list!~ That would be the reason we cut meals down to 2 a day instead of 3. Since then the 'rate of gain' hasn't been quite as bad. :) Well what fun would a blog post be without pictures so here they are. The first one is Uncle Joe's Cabin. The rest are pretty self explanatory.

~Smoochy ~ Smoochy~

We had a little extra fun after the game

:)

~1st Christensen Great Grandchild~

Skyler looks so dang cute!

Only 4 weeks left!

~Silhouette's~

I had a little fun the other night taking some silhouette photos of my son and my brother. I was hoping for a bright sunset with the cloud cover but it didn't happen. My son's not one to stand still long for pictures so I have to snap fast. He said, "just a minute mom." then he ran off and came back with his BB gun.  It made picture taking MUCH more tolerable for him. :) I also threw in a picture of the cloudy sky that night. It was such a bright blue sky behind the clouds.

~Little Boy's~

Little boy's come in all

shapes and sizes.

Shy and adventurous,

full of surprises.

With misshapen halo's

and mischievous grins,

small dirty faces,

and sweet, sticky chins.

They'll keep you so busy,

and yet all the while

nothing can brighten the world

like their smile.

And no greater treasure

has brought homes more joy

then a curious, active,

and lovable boy.

-unknown-